Life Is An Enchantment
by PheonixFireBlack
Summary: Rated for a bit of language. Mostly centered around Zack and a character of mine. Freddy makes some appearances. "Future fic". Characters are 16 and fun stuff is inside! Click and see just what the hell I'm talking about! grin


Title - Life Is An Enchantment

By - PheonixFireBlack

Summary - Mostly centered around Zack and an OC of mine. Freddy will probably make some appearances. "Future fic"

Genre - Humor/Romance

Category - School of Rock

Feedback - Please? This is my first SOR fic

Criticism - I like it...It makes me become a better writer...It's nice when you can get a critisizing review *nod* *nod*

Disclaimer - Come on, you really think I would claim to own the greatness that IS School of Rock? Yeah...right...you obviously don't know me very well, do you? lol. Oh! Chloe Liana Williams. She's mine. I can claim her. lol.

Notes - I'm glad my half-and-lame-ass summary got you here. Anyway, the gang--or the few that will be featured in this fic--is 16. I know some people don't like fics where the characters are older/younger than they actually are, but with this idea, it seemed logical to make them a few years older and 16 just seemed like the RIGHT age. lol. Yes...I'm a loser...I admit it (only ALL the time!) Anyhow, enough of my talk, continue on past this and to the story at any time.

~*~*~*~

He awoke to the annoying buzzing of his alarm clock. It wasn't until he looked at the time that the soft red numbers on the clock read that he realized that he had to leave as soon as he got dressed or else he would miss the bus and be late for school. He put on a black t-shirt with light blue and white, electric-looking lettering on it: AC/DC was all that was on the center of the shirt. Before grabbing his black book bag, he slipped on a pair of black jeans and his tennis shoes. He ran down the stairs, skipping one with each step. He ran through the kitchen. "School, can't be late, later, Mom!"

"Do you need me to pick you up, sweetie?"

"No! I'll walk home!" And with that, he was out the door.

His mom winced as the door slammed, "You won't ever get that through your head, will you?"

He barely made it to the bus stop in time. The bus had almost left. As he got on the bus, he let out a breath. For a few moments, he stood there to catch his breath. Finally, when that was done and his breathing was normal again, he went back to mouthing the words to the song he was listening to and headed towards the back of the bus like usual. He continued to make his way to the back, until she let out a cry of frustration. "You too? What is wrong with you people?" 

He removed the headphones and let the hang around his neck, "What?"

She rolled her eyes. "I just moved here from L.A.--and trust me, they ignore you--but sweet lord, this is bad!"

"Sorry, I couldn't hear you. I had my music up too loud."

"Oh." She said simply, "Well, will you sit with me, then?"

"Well, I usually sit in the back and--"

"Uugghh! Fine!" She gave him a sideways look and muttered, "Bastard." After a few moments, she looked at him again, "If you didn't want to sit with me, all you had to do was say so." She sighed and slumped back against the seat.

"It's not that I don't want to, I just...I usually sit in the back of the bus, 'cause...ya know, I-I don't really like the front of the--front of the bus...and--" He rambled on.

"Oh, do shut up in all of your babbling and go to the back of the bus." Before he could do as she instructed, the girl grabbed his arm. "Wait," She said, looking up at him.

Before he turned around, he swallowed a little bit and turning his head to face her. "Yeah?"

"What's your name?" She asked as she picked up her black and red book bag, slinging it over her shoulder.

"Zack..." He muttered, continuing on towards the back of the bus.

"Chloe Liana Williams. Do you have a last name, or...is it just Zack?"

"Mooneyham." He said, sitting down, never seeing the certain spiky, blond-haired friend of his a few seats ahead of him.

She nodded, "Right..." Chloe fell silent and Zack hit play on the CD player again, not liking the uncomfortable silence and needing a reason for it to be there. Chloe sat there for a few minutes, watching Zack's lips. What song was that? Who the hell was he listening to? She shrugged and spoke, not thinking he would have the music up too loud. "Whatcha listenin' to?" When Zack didn't answer, Chloe waved a hand in front of his face for a few moments, then she lifted one of the headphones, "Hello?"

Zack let the headphones fall over his neck again, this time, however, he left it playing. "What?"

"What are you listening to?"

"Billy Idol, Rebel Yell."

"I knew it seemed familiar! I can't believe that someone my age actually likes him! Thank GOD I know I'm not the 'new-age' teenager that likes the guy!" She grinned. Chloe liked this guy. He liked Billy Idol; he was automatically labeled cool.

Zack nodded, "I thought that my friends and I were the only ones...well...the guys anyway."

"Are you saying that you don't think that girls can like kick ass bands and groups?"

"No, I just--I don't know any girls that--I mean, I--um...I-I..." Zack swallowed.

Chloe rolled her eyes, "Oh, nevermind."

~*~*~*~*~

The bus finally arrived at the school at promptly eight o'clock. To be honest, Zack was kind of glad that the bus had stopped. He was also glad that Chloe was off before he was. In reality, the girl actually kind of made him a little uncomfortable. Zack's happiness was gone when a certain blond-haired friend of his caught him on his to their lockers. "Zack! Zack! Wait up, man!"

Zack stopped for a moment and turned, waiting for Freddy. "Hey."

"What was up with you on the bus, man?" 

"What?" Zack frowned. What was Freddy talking about? "What'd ya mean?"

Freddy laughed, "No, I just--I don't know any girls that--I mean, I--um...I-I..." Freddy mocked his friend and laughed again. "That's what I'm talking about."

"You were there? I didn't see you on the bus."

"That, my dear, rambling, friend, is because I sunk down so you wouldn't see me."

Zack rolled his eyes and opened his locker, "Just...shut up, man."

"Let me think...no. Not talking isn't one of my best qualities."

"I know...I know very well." Zack slammed the locker shut.

"So, what was up with all the," Freddy made a few vague and strangled-sounding noises and looked at his friend for an answer. 

Zack rolled his eyes. "I don't know...Just..." He sighed, "Drop it, alright?"

"This isn't something I can just drop, man. You're insane. What's going on?"

"Nothing's going on, Freddy." 

"Then what was with you and all the...stuttering on the bus?"

The bell rang and Zack gave Freddy a look. "Later, man." He said, walking off to his homeroom.

"I'll let it go for now, but there's no way you're gonna be able to escape me at lunch, Zack!"

~*~*~*~*~

Freddy hadn't been kidding about what he'd said before home room. The only problem was, he couldn't find his best friend. Where the hell was the boy? He couldn't have just disappeared, that kind of thing only happened in movies, so...just where the was Zack? After the blond paid for his lunch and thought that he couldn't find Zack, he saw him. "What the hell? I'm gonna kick his ass!" Freddy let the tray he had in his hand slam to the table and he took off to the other side of the lunch room. "What the hell are you doing?" He yelled.

Zack looked over his shoulder and rolled his eyes. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Chloe...can we talk later?"

The light brown-headed girl frowned. "What? Why? What's wrong with now? You said it was really important and couldn't wait 'til later. Now you're just confusing me, Zack. What is it? Now? Later? Important? Not?" She let out a slightly frustrated noise as she gripped the sides of her head for a moment before letting her arms fall to be crossed over her chest.

"It--It is important, but...I-I was supposed ta talk to Freddy about this...uh...thing, today and I forgot and now he's gonna kick my ass and..." Zack said the first semi-funny thing that came to his mind, "I just really don't want you to be here to see that. It would all be very embarrassing."

"Right..." she smirked, "Alright, I'll catch you later. How's...uh...after school?" 

Zack nodded, "Alright. After school...front doors?"

"Alright...lata." She said, flashing him a quick, small smile before turning and walking away. 

Freddy finally got to where Zack was, "Was that her?" He asked, motioning towards the girl who was near the exit of the lunch room going outside.

"What are you talking about?"

"The girl over there, is she the girl from the bus?"

Zack sighed, "Yeah..."

"So she's the reason for it all, huh?"

"Man, don't you drop anything?"

"No."

"Damn." Zack muttered.

"Sorry, man."

Zack sighed and sat at the nearest table. "What is it exactly that you want to know? I mean, it's not like there is anything to know." He shrugged.

"There's something. You've been actin' weird, man."

"Weird? How so?"

Freddy rolled his eyes. "She's in our Biology and Algebra classes. I saw you."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're a bad, bad liar, Zack. You shouldn't even try." He shook his head, "Anyway...you were starin' at her. That makes it a little obvious." Freddy pinched his fingers together until they were hardly apart to show Zack just how "little" obvious it was.

"You think...she knows?"

"Man, when you've only had...a girlfriend, and you're...well, you..." He shook his head, "Ya just don't tend to know how to hide things, Zack."

"So...then..."

"No, she doesn't know."

"How do you even know that? You haven't talked to her, have you?"

"Yeah, I have."

"Really? When?"

"All my life."

"What?" Now Zack was really confused.

"Man...Chloe's my cousin." Freddy grinned.

"Aww, damn."

"Yeah...great ain't it?" Freddy crinkled his nose for a second, but only a spilt second. Then, he leaned forward on his arms, "Oh, by the way, you hurt her...and you're going to find your head on a stick, Moonyham."

"I'm not going to have a chance to hurt her."

Freddy raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"Because...I won't say anything for a good three years."

"Dude, we're Sophomores, you'd be in college by then."

"Exactly."

"You're insane!"

"Thanks, I try."

"No, I mean, really. It's obvious you like her, but here you are, sittin' here tellin' me you aren't gonna do anything about it? What's up with that?"

"You obviously didn't get what that was reference to, did you?" Zack sighed.

"Uh...no..." The look of realization setting in was upon his face. "Oh! You mean...Hailey, right?"

Zack nodded, but stayed silent.

"Right...you were into her since...sixth grade, wasn't it?"

"Yeah...didn't do anything about it until last summer."

"And...oh...yeah..."

"Yeah."

"Right...I've got to go find my lunch...or, maybe buy another one. Damn. I don't know if I even have enough money for that." Freddy shrugged, "Oh well...talk to ya later, man."

"Later," Zack muttered. Why did you have to bring that up, Freddy? That's just what I needed today. I reminder about that! Zack thought, remembering what had happened last summer.

It was the beginning of the summer and Zack and Freddy were sitting on the front steps of Zack's house, bored out of their minds. They were sitting there, waiting for inspiration for something to do to strike when it happened. She walked by. Hailey Martinez. She had tan skin, dirty blond hair and vibrant green eyes. She beautiful to say the least. And then, Freddy mentioned Zack liking her. 

"You like Hailey, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So? Why don't you do something about it?" 

So he did. He sighed and before he realized what he was really doing, Zack got up and started off to slowly follow the girl. He knew that Freddy had to be shocked. Zack wasn't the type to actually do something about something like this; that was more Freddy's thing. Zack really wasn't sure what had possessed him to do all of this in the first place. It might have been boredom, the infatuation, or a combination of the two, but no matter what it was, he did it. He finally caught up with her and tapped her on the shoulder lightly.

"Yeah?" She stopped and turned to face him. Hailey put her hands in the back pockets of her low-riding, high-cut jean shorts. "Oh, Zack, hey."

' Oh, shit. She knows my name' , was the only thing that could run through his head at the moment. Zack licked his lips and without warning, it all came out at once. "Hailey...I...I've liked you since sixth grade and I was wondering if you might want to go out...some...time...I can't believe I just did that. Can we please act like I didn't just make a complete fool out of myself and...you can go on acting like you don't know who the hell I am. Does that sound ok to you?"

Hailey blinked and looked around at her girlfriends, as if silently asking for their opinions. She faced Zack again, and caught him by the arm before he walked away, "Actually...Zack, that sounds kinda cool. Catch a movie on Friday? Eight, my place, kay?"

"Uh...right, O-ok..." Zack barely managed to get out, mostly due to his shock. ' She touched me. Oh, Sweet Lord, the angel touched me!' He thought as they departed to go their separate ways until Friday. 

Freddy looked at Zack as if he was only seeing him for the first time. He couldn't believe Zack had actually done that. That was great! He was finally coming out of his shell! ...Right? "Now there's something I didn't expect you to do this summer." Freddy clapped his friend on the back.

"It's not something I thought I'd ever do." Zack said as he sat back down on the porch. 

Now the two boys were back to where they have begun. Both of them bored out of their minds, sitting on the front steps of Zack's house. They were still waiting for something to strike in their minds of what to do. The only difference now, was that Zack had a date on Friday. Not only did he have a date, but Zack had a date with one of the most popular girls in school. Maybe this summer wouldn't be as bad as he had thought it was going to be. Maybe things would actually manage to be different this summer.

~*~

The summer went by quickly and school had started again. It was only a week and a half after school had started that it happened. And it all happened right in the middle of the cafeteria, in front of everyone in the school. Zack and Hailey had an unspoken agreement that they would sit with their own friends at lunch, simply for the awkwardness that the situation might bring. Zack didn't think today would be any different, but he soon found out that he was wrong. Very, humiliatingly, embarrassingly, never-want-this-to-happen-ever-again, horribly wrong.

Hailey was with her girlfriends like usual, but she looked over her shoulder at her boyfriend and waved a little before turning back to the girls. "Today, right? I mean...here...the cafeteria, everyone can see it."

"I thought you actually liked this guy, Hailey." The girl to the blond's right, Darla, said.

"No, hun, you've got it all backwards. I like him, but...I like Jason more. Plus, Jason's my age. Zack..." She shrugged, "Zack's a year younger than me. It's just weird."

"Darla, darling, how could you even think that Hales actually liked this guy? I mean, look at him!" Angelina, the dark-haired girl standing on Hailey's right, said, absolutely shocked.

"Well....I...I don't know. She pulled it off really well." Darla grinned, "At least you know his heart will truly be broken, right?" Darla was new to the popular girls group, but she knew how they worked. 

"Oh, yeah." Kelly, a girl with obviously bottled red hair and golden streaks said. 

"Alright...I guess it's time to do my thing, then, isn't it girls?" Hailey had a big grin on her face. This one was going to be fun. 

"Good luck..." The other three girls muttered almost sarcastically as they walked over to their usual table and Hailey walked over towards her boyfriend. 

"Zack!"

Zack looked over his shoulder at the call of his name. He frowned. Hailey never approached him at lunch. Something wasn't right, but he didn't know what and shoved that thought to the side. "Hailey, what's up?"

"Well...I've been thinking and...I think we need to talk, Zack." She said, looking as uncomfortable as she could, but knowing that nearly everyone in the lunch room was watching the two of them and knowing that Zack would fall straight into the trap. He wasn't exactly what you called an "experienced dater". 

"About...what?"

"Zack...I'm, sorry, I have to be blunt or it just...it'll take to long...and it'll be too painful." Hailey went as far as to have tears brimming her eyes. However, everyone that knew her would also know that she wasn't about to let those tears spill over. Hailey Meghan Johnson never truly cried over any guy.

"What? Hailey...what's going on?" Zack didn't even think about the pair of them being in the middle of the lunch room. He didn't seem to even realize that almost the entire school was watching them. And he definately didn't see the trap that he had just allowed himself to get into. 

"Zack..." She sighed, "I don't think we can go out any more,"

"Wha--Why?" Hailey waited a moment, hoping and praying that he would continue and babble. It would be great if he realized that the school was watching him, but then again, maybe it would be a little more fun if he didn't realize it just yet. Hailey was grinning on the inside, despite the tears in her eyes on the outside. "But...I...was there something that I did wrong? I mean, I--" He stopped himself, confused, and managed to make a few slightly strangled noises.

"No, Zack, honey, you didn't do anything wrong." Hailey touched his cheek with her hand. She seemed just fine now. She was smiling and talking sickeningly sweet and even glanced around the room a little before speaking. "Unless you count falling for a trap being wrong." She smiled and tapped him on the nose before letting her hand fall back down.

"What?"

"Hun, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret." She leaned closer to him, "It's what I do." She said slowly. "I set up guys that I know are weak, or like me...I set you guys up...and then... then I break your little hearts into millions of tiny pieces...in front of everyone possible in the school." She stepped back, grinning. This was fun. This was just what she liked to do. 

"But...I thought...I mean, I--" That's when it hit him. Zack suddenly remembered that they were both stand there in the middle of the cafeteria. He could even feel the eyes of the hundreds of students in the room upon them. He could feel the heat coming to his cheeks. Zack closed his eyes and turned around, walking out of the lunch room with Hailey's words as well as the rest of the school's laughter ringing in his ears. When he reached the nearest set of lockers, Zack stopped and stood, but started talking to himself. "I can't believe I let her do this to me."

Before he could get any farther, he heard the door open and close as someone else came out. He knew who it was. It was Freddy. "Man...that was cold. I knew she was popular...but I didn't think that Hailey was like that."

"Not your fault...It's my fault. I fell for it. I actually managed to convince myself that she liked me. Well, that won't happen again."

"Why's that?"

"Because...I won't let it."

"How are you going to prevent it? I mean, you're gonna date girls for longer than that and come ta find out, bam! All the sudden.." Freddy shook his head, "All the sudden, the girl who used to be perfect, is a bitch."

"There's only one way to prevent it."

"And that would be..." Freddy sounded honestly and throughly confused.

"I won't go out with another girl until I'm out of school."

This comment later lead to Freddy making his own comment about Zack going to college a virgin and how absolutely and universally wrong that was. With that said, Zack shook his head and officially labeled that day as the Worst Day of his Life...Ever. 

~*~*~*~

Chloe was glad to finally enter the place she was currently calling home. She shoved the front door open and tore up the stairs, dying to get to her room. Technically, so to speak, she and Freddy were currently sharing his room due to the fact that the room that she was to stay in was getting re-insulated at the moment. 

The first thing she did when she got there was let her book bag drop down to the floor beside the door. Then, she dove for the bed and lay on her back. She had considered writing in the little black journal that was over in the corner in the box of her stuff, but she decided thinking alone in her thoughts would due fine justice for now. Oh, Sweet LORD! Why did Freddy have to have such a cute best friend? I mean, it always happens like that in the movies, but why is this happening to me? She shook her head. Chloe was starting to wonder about her sanity. She didn't usually act like this. She shrugged and continued her thoughts: Not only does Zack of looks going for him, but he was totally cute on the bus this morning...all...stuttering and everything. She frowned and the question that popped in her head was on she would have to ask Freddy later. God, I need to stop being a teeny-bopper and get my damn homework done! Maaan, homework sucks. It should be outlawed! And with that, Chloe got up and grabbed her bag, flopping down on the mattress on the floor currently serving as her bed and started on her Geometry homework

~*~*~*~

Chloe sighed and slammed the book she was reading shut. It was Everything's Eventual by Stephen King. It was just a small collaboration of fourteen short stories that the genius of a man had written. She was personally really glad that there were people like Stephen King around to keep her entertained. However, right now, she was hating the fact of having to go to bed. She sighed again and put the book away, standing up and locking the bed room door. This would actually be kind of funny in a way. Freddy had been downstairs on the computer doing God-knows-what and now, she had him locked out of his own room. Chloe grinned. "Even if it is only for me to get dressed." She laughed and dug around in the box of clothes until she found what she was looking for: A white, low-cut, looked-like-it-came-from-the-lingerie-department, tank top and a pair of silky dark blue sleep pants that had a golden celestial print. She slipped the clothing on and waited for a moment. Then it came. The sound of someone turning the knob of a locked door. Soon following, was the sound of someone jerking the knob, trying to force the door open in a very futile attempt. This was soon followed by a slightly ticked off voice. "Chloe! Open the door!"

Chloe held back a giggle. She couldn't help it, she just had to make him think that he locked the door himself. 

He banged on the door a few times, "Chloe! Are you in there?"

She shook her head in response. "No..." She mouthed, grinning.

"Aww...shit..." Chloe barely heard him swear. She knew that he couldn't have Aunt Bianca hearing him swear, and so did he. "I locked the door...wait...if I locked the door...where's Chloe?"

The girl couldn't help it any more. She burst out laughing as she walked over and unlocked the door. "That was fun." She said, grinning.

"That was not funny, Chloe." Freddy said, pushing his way past his cousin and flopping down onto his bed.

Chloe closed the door and stood there for a moment, looking at her cousin in his white wife-beater and shorts. She sighed and jumped onto the mattress on the floor. "Bored now." She said in a sing-song voice.

"Um...ok...what do you want me to do about it?" Freddy asked, leaning over and flicking the lamp off.

"I want you to talk to me."

"About what?"

"I don't know, but you get to pick."

Freddy sighed but thought about it for a few moments. He hated it when Chloe did this, but he knew that since, for now, there was no escaping her, that he had to do it. He smirked and sat up, "You like him?"

"Ok, I'm not in your head, Freddy...thank GOD for that miracle, who are you talking about?" She muttered the last bit.

"Zack." Was the blond's simple response.

Chloe could feel her eyes widen. Was her cousin psychic or something? She swallowed and looked up at him, turning the light back on. "What?" She asked, sounding a little more defensive than she had meant to sound.

Freddy smirked again, "You do, don't you?"

Chloe crossed her arms over her chest after she sat up, leaning against the dresser that was behind her. "No."

Freddy shook his head. "Yeah ya do."

Chloe looked up at him, slightly glaring. "How can you read me so well?"

"You mean...other than the fact that I've known you for my entire life?"

Chloe rolled her eyes, "Screw you, Jones."

"Right back atcha, Williams." Freddy shook his head but spoke again. "Really, though. Do you like him, Chloe?"

"I'm not telling you."

"Why not?"

"You two are best friends. If I tell you anything, it's so going to get relayed back to him."

"No...it's not."

Chloe frowned. Now he was just confusing her. "What? Why?"

Freddy chuckled, "You forget about out 'No Secrets' policy?"

"What?" The girl sounded highly amused, yet lost at the same time.

Freddy sat up near the center of the bed, facing his cousin. "I know it's stupid but...we were eight and...you tried to make it off as the 'No Secrets from Chloe' policy. At first...I agreed but, then I realized that this wasn't fair and we eventually agreed that it would be the 'No Secrets' policy. Meaning...we could, would, did, and...hopefully still will, tell each other anything and everything. However, this is all in complete confidence, we couldn't tell anyone at all." He shook his head and smirked, "Anyway...yeah...it's stupid, but I still remember that."

It was Chloe's turn to shake her head, "I can't believe you still remember that, Freddy. I'd forgotten about that until you said anything."

He shrugged, "It's just...one of those things..."

"Yeah..." Chloe muttered, finally killing that conversation.

"Chloe," Freddy said after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah?" She looked over at her cousin.

"Do you?"

"Yeah....I guess...I mean, I don't know...I only met him today, Freddy!"

"I think you do."

"Yeah...well..." For the lack of anything witty coming to her head, Chloe stuck her tongue out at the blond boy.

"Oh, yeah...real mature, Chloe."

"Thanks, I try." She grinned.

"You aren't gonna wait two and a half years to do something about it, are you?" Freddy asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Nevermind."

"Ok...you are really starting to scare me. I think I should go to sleep."

"You're the one that wanted to talk...and now that you have me to the point of wanting to talk, you're just gonna go to sleep? That is wrong, Chloe!"

"I tend to favor being evil sometimes." She said with a grin as she pulled her pillow down and lay down herself.

~*~*~*~

Several months had gone by now and Chloe was really starting to like it here. She really liked listening to the band play, that was always fun. However, she herself couldn't do anything, so she sat and talked with Summer while they both listened. Currently, however, she was far from anywhere that she wanted to be. Chloe was at lunch, trying to find a familiar face. Having no luck, she shrugged and went outside to eat her lunch. That's when she saw him...and that was the moment that she got fed up with it all. Chloe gently set her tray of junk that the school decided to label as "food" on the nearest table and she slowly walked towards him. She sighed just before she got there, and tapped the dark headed boy on the shoulder, knowing he was listening to Billy Idol, the Sex Pistols, AC/DC or someone of that generation of music. 

Zack put his headphones around his neck and turned around, "Yeah? Oh, hey, Chloe."

"Hey..."

"What going on?"

"I...I wanna talk to you."

"O...kay..." Zack seemed a little confused.

After a moment, Chloe knew what to do. "Come with me." She took his wrist and pulled him along through the cafeteria and into an empty classroom. It took a few moments for their eyes to adjust, and actually even a little longer for Zack to realize that the girl had dragged him into a dark, empty classroom in the middle of lunch. "Uh...C-Chloe...what are we...doing in an empty classroom in the--in the middle of lunch?" He stuttered.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you." She said, leaning back on her arms, her hands on the edge of the teacher's desk. "I wanted to talk to you alone and...we don't exactly have a student lounge, and even if we did, it would be crowded." 

Zack felt his shoulders tense. This wasn't something that happened every day. Girls didn't just pull him into empty classrooms like this. And if they did, there was always a good reason. Usually something about--actually, come to think of it, right now, Zack didn't remember a girl ever pulling him into an empty classroom in the middle of lunch like this. Oh, shit. Was the only phrase that ran through his mind. "So..."

Chloe bit her lip. Was she going to say it or was she going to show him or something else? She didn't know. "Well, it's just...there's this...thing, that I wanted to talk to you about." She paused, moving a fraction of an inch closer to the boy. "And...I dunno, this seemed like as good a place as any, as far as quite and private goes."

Zack was getting more uncomfortable by every passing minute of silence and it was at least five times, if not twenty or more, worse with every word that passed the girl's lips. He swallowed when she got even closer than she had been ten seconds ago. "So...what--what did you...wanna..." He swallowed, "What'd you wanna talk about?" 

"Zack...there's something I need to tell you."

"O-Okay..." He licked his lips. It was a nervous habit he had. "So, just what is it that you need to tell me that's so important that you drag me off to an empty classroom in the middle of lunch that anyone, including a teacher, could walk into at any given moment? I-I mean...couldn't you have picked a different place? I-I, I mean...I--"

Chloe couldn't stand it anymore. He was rambling too much and she wasn't sure of any other way to shut him up. She reached up and kissed him. The kiss didn't last long, not much more than a few seconds at best, but it had still happened. Chloe slowly parted from him and stepped back, leaning back onto the desk again, eyes wide and holding fear and uncertainty. 

Zack couldn't manage anything at the moment, nothing at all. No sounds, no movement, no anything at all.

Chloe closed her eyes. She knew this had been a bad idea! She mentally kicked herself. "Zack, I-I'm sorry, I just...oh, Sweet Lord tell me that kiss wasn't just me...tell me you felt something...tell me that this isn't just one-sided feelings...please...Zack, say something!"

"I-I..." He swallowed and licked his lips. "Chloe, I--I'm sorry, but...I-Iii can't do this."

"What? Oh...so...you don't...like me, right?" She sounded so grief-stricken that it actually pained Zack.

That doesn't matter... He told himself. It's not the same kind of pain that happened last year...and it won't be, because I'm not giving that pain a chance. He closed his eyes, "Look, Chloe, I just...I..." he sighed and put his face in his hands. "I just...it...it's complicated, ok?"

"How complicated can it be? You either like me or you don't, Zack. And you obviously don't, so I just have to...get over it and go on." After that was said, Chloe walked out of the room, eyes brimming with tears.

Zack stood there in the middle of the dark, empty classroom and sighed. I made her cry...and I broke her heart...how could I even do that? He yelled the question at himself. Freddy's gonna have my ass when she finds him... Zack had come quick to learn that the two were closer than had they just been cousins; it was more like they were twins or something. Yep. He was definitely dead and gone when Freddy found him later.

~*~*~*~

Zack wasn't far off from his earlier thoughts. Freddy finally caught up with him as Zack walked home. He was really starting to wish that he had a car, now. He tried to walk faster and act like he didn't see Freddy, but that didn't work too well. Zack finally sighed and stopped, dropping his book bag next to him and waiting for Freddy. He closed his eyes, slowly opening them as he turned around again. Before he could speak, Freddy did:

"What did you do to her?" He yelled, slamming Zack into the nearby metal fence with it's square-shaped pattern. 

"Freddy...I didn't do anything, ok?"

"Then why did Chloe come to me today at lunch, crying and going on about something that happened between the two of you?"

Zack sighed. "She dragged me off into an empty classroom, claiming to want to talk to me. There's lots of awkward silence and in the end she kissed me. She kissed me and afterwards, she asked if the feelings were one sided, if I felt anything." Zack stopped.

"And?"

"I told her no, Freddy. I freakin' lied and not only did I lie, but damn...damn I want to talk to her. Where is she?"

"You may wanna talk to her, but she doesn't want to talk to you. Anyway, continue and finish your story."

"I told her no and mentioned something about it being complicated. Obviously, she got confused, said something about me either liking her or not and obviously not and she walked out of the room, ok? That's it. That's what happened. End of story. Let me down."

Freddy backed off and rolled his eyes. "So...that's it? That's the end? Case closed? Curtains drawn? Music fading away and solo gone?"

"No...I-I didn't want to tell her no, Freddy...but I did."

"If you didn't want to, then why did you?"

"Because, I--" He sighed. Zack knew Freddy wasn't going to like this reason, but it was the truth. "I couldn't tell her anything else, ok? I--you know what I said...and I meant it."

"What?" Freddy was throughly confused now.

"About...not...dating anymore and stuff."

"Man, I thought that was just for the moment. I didn't think you were actually serious about that!"

"Well, I was, alright? And now...now I'm seriously regretting what I said to Chloe. I can't believe I did that." Zack picked his bag up and the two started walking.

"Wait...you were serious about what you said last year, but your regretting saying what you said to Chloe. Now you've managed to lose me, Zack."

"I don't know...I just...I'm confused."

Freddy shook his head. He didn't understand what there was to be confused about. He obviously liked Chloe, all he had to do was...well, do something about it. The only problem was the fact that he might have blown any chance of any kind of relationship with her. 

"I really can't believe that I did that..." Zack muttered to himself again, running a hand through his hair.

"I'll catch you later, man." Freddy said as the two had to go their separate ways. However, before the two were completely out of each other's sight, Freddy turned back around. "Zack! Zack, wait!"

Zack sighed and turned around, "What?"

"Do you want me to talk to her for ya?" Freddy asked when he caught up with his friend.

"What?" Zack frowned. This time is wasn't in a manner of "What the hell do you want?", but rather ginuine confusion.

"Chloe. Do you want me to talk to her for you?"

"No...if you did that, she would think we set it up."

"Uh...if we did do this..it would be set up, wouldn't it?"

"That's not..." Zack sighed, "Just...Just don't, ok?" Zack asked, almost pleading, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Alright man...later."

~*~*~*~

It wasn't until later that night that Freddy decided that he would talk to his cousin. He knew she probably wouldn't want to talk, but he had to at least try. It was nine or so when he went downstairs and found her in the living room, sitting on the couch, watching something on TV. He hopped over the back of the couch and sat in a way much like his cousin: He was leaning into the corner formed by the arm and back of the couch with his feet drawn under him.

Chloe didn't want to talk and she knew that was most likely what Freddy wanted. She sighed as she leaned forward and flicked the TV off. She turned to face her blond haired cousin. She rolled her eyes. She just really didn't want to talk. She didn't feel that great. It wasn't just because of what had happened earlier, she just really didn't feel that great "Look, Freddy, I don't wanna talk, ok?"

"Chloe, come on, please, I just want to talk."

"But I don't."

"Chloe, come on, I just wanna talk...nothing in particular, I mean...ya know?"

Chloe rolled her eyes, "Freddy, I don't feel good, ok? I'm seriously considering going up to bed."

"Chloe--" Freddy barely got his cousin's name out of his mouth before she cut him off.

"No, Freddy, I am going to go to bed. I just..." She shook her head, "I really don't feel good." And with that, she stood up, steadied herself and slowly made her way over to the staircase and went up to their room.

Freddy sighed and closed his eyes. He waited until he heard the door close. He put his feet down on the ground and leaned over on his knees. This wasn't how Chloe usually was, or Zack either. Sure, Zack was quiet and didn't talk much, but it was still more than it had been today. To be honest, Freddy was starting to wonder just exactly what happened today. He shook his head and sighed again before making his way up to his room as well.

Freddy opened the door to his room only to be enveloped in complete darkness and an odd sound that he wasn't all that used to. He knew what it was, it just wasn't something he heard a lot--especially from Chloe. He sighed again, silently, and closed the door behind him. After his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he slowly went over to his bed and lay down, arms behind his head, staring up at what would have been the ceiling, but was currently a dark emptiness. "Chloe..."

"Yeah..." She choked out as she tried to stop crying before answering, though she failed.

"Why are you crying?" Freddy asked stupidly. He knew it was a stupid town, but he didn't know what else to say. Other than that, he just wasn't used to her crying and it was actually kind of painful for him to hear her cry without saying something.

"You know what happened earlier, right?"

Freddy closed his eyes, "Yeah..."

"Well...then why do you even have to ask?" She practically yelled at him.

Freddy couldn't stand it any more. She was talking which was what she needed to do and what he had tried to get her to do a few minutes ago. He sighed and flicked the light next to him on. He leaned over the side of the bed and looked down at the curled up form below him. "Chloe...about that...can I tell you something? Something...about Zack?"

Chloe sighed and rolled over to face him. She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling because of the tears. "What?"

"Zack isn't usually like that, Chloe..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's always what The Best Friend says." Chloe rolled her eyes. "Just...don't even go there, Freddy."

Freddy hesitated before saying anything else. He could hardly believe he was about to tell her this without asking anyone, namely Zack, about it in the first place. Maybe it was just a spur of the moment thing, but that didn't matter because Freddy seemingly couldn't stop his mouth early enough for it to matter. "Look, Chloe...there was this...thing that happened last summer and...man, Zack's changed a lot ever since that took place." Freddy didn't realize that he was mostly talking to himself with that comment.

Chloe frowned. What was he talking about? She sat up and moved her pillow up with her as she leaned into the dresser behind her. "What're ya talking about? What happened?"

"There was this girl, Hailey Martinez...Zack liked her, not that anyone blamed him...everybody liked her. She's a junior now. Anyway, we were bored out of our minds when she and a couple of her friends walked by. I don't know what deity dominated him to do it...but Zack actually got up and walked over to her and asked her out. She accepted and they went out for the rest of the summer. It was actually kind of scary...the two of them being together." He shook his head, knowing he was straying from the subject. "Anyway, when school started up again...it all went up in flames after that. She broke up with him in front of the entire school at lunch a week into school, Chloe. I don't think I've ever seen that boy's face a darker shade of read before. He was humiliated in front of the school because he had fallen for some bitch who liked to play games. After that..." Freddy was shocked that he hadn't stopped himself before. He shrugged figuring there was no use in stopping now that she knew this much. "I caught up with him in the hallway after it all happened and he told me that he wasn't going to date another girl until he was out of school. I've been trying to tell him he's insane ever since, but he won't listen. Chloe...I think that whatever it was that really happened exactly as it happened today...I think that really hit him hard. He's confused is all. You'll see that he'll come around..." Freddy finished, thinking to himself, I hope...

"Oh my God, are you serious, Freddy?"

"Do you really think that I could make something that elaborate up off the top of my head? No, I don't think so. And if I did, things would clash together and you would know it was fake."

"I guess that's true..." Chloe muttered, thinking about what Freddy had just told her. That was a lot to take in. For some reason, Chloe had a feeling that she wasn't supposed to know all, if any of the information that Freddy had just revealed to her. She looked up at him, "Freddy, did you just tell me something that you weren't supposed to tell me?"

"Well...I don't guess...I mean, he never told me that I couldn't tell anyone, but..." Freddy shrugged, "I don't know that he'd like you knowing it all..."

"Then why did you tell me?"

"Because...I didn't know how else to get it through your head that Zack wasn't like how he acted today. Not usually, anyway."

"But--"

"Chloe..."

"Yeah?"

"Do you think...I mean...what are you going to do? Ya know...about--er--with--uh--whatever--Zack?"

"I don't know...now I'm really confused."

"See? That's wrong with Zack. He's just confused, Chloe."

"I can see that now, making a promise like that to himself, it was a little insane but...I mean, can you really break a promise that you made to yourself?"

"I don't know...we'll see..." With that, Freddy got up and turned the light out again, laying down.

"Wait...what do you mean 'we'll see'?"

Freddy stayed quiet, smirking.

"Freddy!"

~*~*~*~

Zack wasn't sure what to think right now. He was extremely confused. He had to think about this...about everything. But he had to do this while getting ready for bed. He got out of his school uniform, which he had been surprised that he hadn't already changed out of earlier, and slipped on a black tank top and a pair of loose, thin black pants. He sat down on the edge of his bed and put his elbows on his knees, pressing his palms to his eyes. Zack wasn't sure what he thought right now. He sighed and lay down on the bed. He had made that promise to himself last year, but now...he wasn't so sure it would be as easy to keep as he had thought. Can you break a promise to yourself? I mean...if you do that...how trustworthy are you, really? If you break a simple promise to yourself...how can you trust yourself with something that might come from someone else? Then again, Zack didn't realize just how big of a promise he had made to himself. Maybe it would come to him soon. Zack sighed. "Why does life have to be like this? Why can't life be...simple?" Because....if life was simple it would also be very, very boring. He answered himself. Zack shook his head and put his hands to his eyes again. Life could really lead you down some confusing and scrambled paths sometimes.

~*~*~*~

The next few days at school were extremely awkward for Zack and Chloe. For Zack, it was because he wasn't sure what he was going to do about the situation. He still wasn't sure if he was going to keep that promise he had made to himself last year. For Chloe, on the other hand, it was because she knew that she knew something that she shouldn't and she didn't want to accidentally bring it up in conversation or something and suddenly have Zack in an argument with Freddy too. So, needless to say, things were quite strange for the time being.

At lunch on the Friday after everything had come up, Zack was starting to wonder if he should just talk to Chloe, make sure she understood that he wasn't actually like that. He usually didn't act like he had that day. He was trying to find the chestnut-haired girl, but he couldn't see her anywhere inside the cafeteria. He shrugged and decided to try for her outside. It didn't take long to find her. She was sitting under one of the trees on the schoolyard, not far from the building, reading some book or other. Zack set his tray down and hesitated before walking towards her. He let out a breath and slowly made his way over. He lightly tapped her on the shoulder, "Chloe..." He started hesitantly, "Mind if I...sit with you?"

Chloe looked up at him, her green eyes meeting his dark ones. She was tempted to think that her breath had caught in her through, but she soon realized that this had only been in her head. "No..." Was the simple answer she gave him before going back to her book.

"Did you decide that you weren't going to be the one to find out what the mystery Friday lunch special was?" Zack wasn't that great at small talk, but he had actually managed an ok start.

Chloe smiled, "No...I just wasn't hungry...but I could always use that as an excuse later to ditch class." She joked, closing the book and setting it aside.

There was an awkward silence between the two of them, but after resituating herself into a position to face Zack, Chloe interrupted the silence. "Did you...wanna talk about something?" She almost sounded hopeful.

Zack sighed as she cut right to the point. "Yeah...about...the other day..." He paused, trying to form the words to come out right in his head. "I'm not usually like that, Chloe...there's just...this thing that happened last summer and--"

Chloe stopped him as she was getting the feeling that another explanation of last summer was coming on. "Freddy told me the night that it all happened."

"Why did he do that?" Zack asked, more to himself than anyone.

"Because...he didn't want us to be in the situation we're in right now. Freddy just wanted everything to be normal and...he also wanted me to understand that how you acted that day...isn't how you usually are." Chloe couldn't help it; covering for her cousin's ass was just a habit.

"I still didn't think he'd ever tell anyone about that..." Zack muttered before shaking his head and continuing, "Anyway..Chloe, do you think we could...get back on normal terms? I mean...it there were normal terms before, that is."

"There are never normal terms when it comes to Chloe Liana Williams, but yeah..." She smiled.

"Thank, God. I didn't exactly want my life to end up being the next daytime soap opera."

Chloe laughed. "The next daytime soap? Please! Just because one small little something happens doesn't automatically make your life a soap opera. It's only when your everyday life contains an extremely dramatic event that your life would be made into the next soap opera." She grinned again.

~*~*~*~

It was the weekend. Finally, a time of rest, relaxation, and boredom. Zack, Freddy, and Chloe were all at Zack's house, in the living room, trying to figure out what to do. For the moment, the only thing breaking the silence was the greatness that was AC/DC and Hell's Bells had just started. The lack of chatter from the three teenagers was suddenly broken when Chloe sat up and declared, "I know what we can do!"

The two boys looked at her, waiting for her to continue. When she didn't they both rolled their eyes and said, "Well?"

"Oh! Right. Sorry." She shook her head. Chloe was grinning from ear to ear, "I have two words for you, boys: Amusement Park!" She exclaimed.

"That's a great idea in theory, Chloe, but..how the hell are we gonna get there?" Freddy asked.

"Um, hello, we all have parents--well, you two have parents, I have an aunt and uncle--who could drop us off!" She rolled her eyes. Boys could be so thick sometimes.

"Alright...let's go then!" Freddy exclaimed.

~*~*~*~

A few hours later, the three teenagers were still at the park, still not bored, and still so very not ready to go home. They were currently just walking around aimlessly, but Chloe suddenly spotted the ride that she wanted to go on. It had to be the biggest one in the park. She squealed and jumped up and down, "Freddy! Zack! Come on, let's go!" She said and started running towards the line. She stopped after a moment, though, looking over her shoulder. "Hello? Earth to Fred the Flintstone and Zack Attack! Are you coming?"

"I'm coming, gimme a sec," Freddy said, amused with his cousin's enthusiasm.

Chloe tilted her head at Zack, "You come with?" She asked, not actually realizing it until now. He hasn't gone on much of anything...there were the water rides...and the one that was in the dark and a few of the not-so-totally-adrenaline-rushing coasters but...nothing too big. Now Chloe was going to die until she knew why.

"Uh...no, not this one." Zack said timidly, glancing up at the metal structure, towering above them.

"Aww, why not?" The girl whined. "You haven't been on anything today! Let's go!" She took his wrist and tried to pull him with her. Zack, however, had other plans. He stood his ground and wasn't about to let her drag him over there to the line. Chloe stopped and turned around, placing both hands on her hips. "Hello! Zack! That's your cue...that, my friend, is when you are supposed to reluctantly give in and allow me to drag you along! You do things all wacky." She laughed. 

"This isn't a movie, Chloe." Zack said simply.

"So what? Why aren't you gonna go? Aren't you gonna ride anything with a serious adrenaline rush today?"

"Have I yet?"

"Well...no...but there's a first time in a day for everything!" She paused, "Even if that isn't how the saying goes." She rolled her eyes, "Anyway, come on!"

"You're not getting me on that thing, Chloe."

"Yes I am. I will find a way if it takes me all day! I'm getting you over there, in that line and you are going to stand there with Freddy and I for nearly two hours and we are all three going to ride the biggest ride in the park!"

"Get ready to be here until they kick us out, then." Freddy muttered.

Chloe rolled her eyes but turned to face her spiky-haired cousin. "What are you babbling about, Freddy?"

"You said you'd stay and find a way to get him on the coaster if it took you all day. I'm just saying that you need to get ready to be here until they kick us out."

Chloe frowned. She was confused before, but now she was extremely lost. She blinked a few times as she tried to piece things together. Having no luck, she continued with her best quality, talking. "What? You're really starting to confuse me, Freddy! Quit doing that and explain yourself!" She berated the boy.

Freddy chuckled, "Why don't you ask Zack?"

She rolled her eyes, "Fine! Zack...what is he talking about?"

Zack was kind of enjoying the girl's confusion and enthusiasm to find out what was going on and he decided to keep it going. This was just all too amusing. Oh the times he wished he had a video camera. "To be honest, my dear blond friend has managed to loose me as well." He shrugged, "Sorry, Chloe." He glanced at Freddy and grinned. There was also the fact that he just wanted to keep what she was trying to find out to himself, but that hadn't entered his mind just yet.

Chloe let out a frustrated cry. "Can't you people just tell me what you're talking about so we can hurry up and get this over with so I can go stand in line for about an hour and a half to get on the damn four minute ride?" 

"Alright, alright, calm down." Zack said.

Chloe took a deep breath, released it slowly and looked at Freddy. "You started all of this. You get to explain it."

"O-kay..." Freddy said, rolling his eyes. Before giving her the explanation, he shrugged, "Zack just...has a thing for heights."

"Huh?" Chloe somehow managed to seem more confused now than she had a few minutes ago.

Freddy rolled his eyes again. His cousin could be so blond sometimes. "A thing for...or, in layman terms: fear of, heights."

"Oh." She said simply, staring with an almost blank look at her cousin. She turned from him to face the black-headed boy. "That's so cute!" She squealed. She ran over to him and kissed him on the cheek in a completely random act. When she looked back on this day later, Chloe would probably be a little embarrassed, but she was in too weird of a mood to be right now.

Zack hated being himself right now for more than one reason. First of all, damn God for making him defective and afraid of heights. Secondly, why was he so easy to embarrass? And last, but most definitely not least: Why, oh why, did he have to always blush so deeply?

Chloe titled her head slightly to the side while looking at Zack. "Freddy! It's like an instant sunburn!" She giggled.

Freddy stopping in his girl searching for a moment and glanced over his shoulder at his best friend. He couldn't help but laugh when he saw what Chloe was referring to. Zack was as scarlet as the rails on the roller coaster that he and his cousin were planning on getting on. "You're almost right, Chlo." He grinned and ran off towards the line, "Come on, let's go!"

~*~*~*~

Later that day, after the three had decided that they though they weren't bored of the amusement park, they should really go home before their parents killed them. Thus, they phoned their parents to pick them up. Zack was presently lying on his bed with his arms folded behind his head, trying to figure everything out. He knew what he had promised to himself last year and he knew that he couldn't break that promise. Every time he thought about doing it, he always thought about how he wouldn't be able to trust himself with promises with other people. Breaking a promise that you made to yourself just didn't seem right. 

However, at the same time, Zack knew that he had feelings for Chloe. He knew that she liked him as well, especially since that day when everything went all crazy. He shook his head as he remembered that day. Not only had he made her cry, but his best friend almost beat the shit out of him because of it. Zack honestly didn't know what had made him say what he had said. It was far from what he had wanted to say. He had wanted to tell her that it wasn't just a one-sided thing, it wasn't just her, he wanted to tell her that he had felt something. That wasn't what came out of his mouth thought. What had come out of his mouth was something that was far from the truth and nothing like what he had felt. He had felt something. He had wanted to kiss her back, but she pulled away. Zack was still shocked that he had even managed to do what he had done. 

There were some days when he tried to convince himself that it wasn't real, it didn't happen, but it never worked. It was all set in stone. The scenes replayed over and over in his head and each time, he seemed to hate himself more and more. Zack wasn't sure what he was going to do. There was only one things that really bothered him, though. Ever since a few days ago when Zack had made out to apologize to her, Chloe had been acting strange. It wasn't that she was trying to ignore him, but she was acting a little off her rocker. There were times when Zack thought that she was ignoring him, then there were others, like today, when he thought she was dying to touch him. It was weird and he didn't know what to make of it all. She was confusing the absolute hell out of him. Zack didn't need help with that, he was good enough doing that on his own. 

Zack sat up and leaned against the wall behind his bed. He sighed and glanced over at the phone on his desk only a few feet away. He was considering it, but he wasn't so sure he would actually do it. Maybe he should. Then again, he didn't want to seem desperate or something. Zack closed his eyes and wondered if he would ever get over that stupid promise he had made. Maybe Freddy was on the right line of reasoning for once; Maybe Zack should just break the promise, make it so that it was only for that moment...for that while and not for the rest of his remaining two and a half years of high school. He opened his eyes and glanced at the phone again. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "No...not now...Maybe later." He muttered to himself. 

And that was when the phone rang. Zack glared at it. Why did it have to ring? Why did whoever it was that was calling have to call him now? And why had he insisted on getting his own phone line? He sighed and walked over to pick it up. "Hello?"

"Zack." Was all that came from the other end. A pause, and then continuation. "I...wanted to talk to you."

"That's usually why people call other people, Chloe. To talk to them." Zack joked.

"Oh, yes, and we all love a sarcastic Zack." She said in her own sarcastic tone. "Anyway...um...about...earlier, ya know, at the park...Sorry."

"You're going to have to be a little more specific, Chloe."

"Right...sorry. Um...at that one roller coaster, when I found out about you having issues with heights and everything...Sorry...I don't know why I did that...I just...." She sighed. That was a lie. She knew exactly why she had kissed him on the cheek. She had wanted to. She wanted to kiss him again, and the cheek was the closest she was going to get and that moment at the amusement park was probably the last chance she had gotten.

"Chloe...there's nothing to be sorry about." 

"I kissed you, Zack! I kissed you smack on the lips a few weeks ago and now on the cheek for completely no reason! This isn't something that people just go around doing, is it?"

"Well, no, but...Chloe, I need to talk to you about that--about everything."

"What do you mean?"

Zack sighed, "Ok, so...Freddy told you what happened, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Did he tell you about that stupid promise I made to myself?"

"Uh-huh..." 

"And...you remember everything that happened a few weeks ago, right?"

"Yeah, of course." Chloe really didn't see where the boy was going with all of this.

"Well...Chloe, I--" Zack stopped and closed his eyes. He couldn't do this. Not on the phone. "Can you come over?"

"What?" Chloe was confused now. 

"Can you come over?" Zack repeated, "I can't do this on the phone."

"Oh...ok. See you in a few?"

"Alright. Bye."

"Bye." 

Zack hung the phone up but before replacing in back on the receiver, he tapped it on his head. "Stupid! What are you trying to do? Kill yourself?" He yelled at himself, placing the phone on the receiver and going over to turn on AC/DC's Who Made Who.

~*~*~*~

When Chloe arrived at the Mooneyham house, she slowly made her way to the door. She wasn't sure what Zack wanted, or where he had been going with everything he was saying earlier but she knew that she needed to know. She sighed and knocked on the front door. She waited until the door was opened to reveal Zack's mother. "Oh! Chloe, dear, hello! What are you doing here...exactly?" The woman sounded very confused.

"Zack wanted to talk to me." Chloe said simply as she walked inside, hoping the woman would simply buy that and not continue with any further questioning.

Chloe's luck didn't prove to be good today, and she even had her lucky charm bracelet on! "What about?" Serena Mooneyham was very curious as to what her son would be needing to talk to Melissa Jones' niece about in person that they couldn't just discuss on the phone.

"I'm...actually really not that sure, Mrs. Mooneyham." Chloe said. 

"Hmm...alright. Go on upstairs, dear."

Chloe nodded and did as she was told. When she came to the door leading into Zack's room, she drummed her fingers a few times. She stood there silently until she heard Zack say to come in. She opened the door and entered, closing the door behind her. This was the first time that she had actually been in Zack's room before. She had seen it several times, glances, or waiting outside in the hallway for him, but she'd never been in his room prior to now. She looked around; The walls were painted blue and there were several shelves with random things on them, they were the only thing that caught her eye. There was his desk in the left corner from where she was standing, his dresser in the right and his bed situated somewhere in-between. It was an odd kind of set up, but she figured that it was how Zack wanted it. She saw his electric guitar leaning on the closet door and smiled slightly. He was really good. Finally, her eyes lay upon Zack. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his arms folded over his knees. The only thing of his attire that Chloe noticed was the navy blue wife beater. "Hey..."

"Hey," Zack repeated.

"So...what's up?" Chloe asked as she went around to the other side of his bed and sat down. This was probably the closest in proximity that the two had been since the day that Zack apologized.

"Uh...well...I..." He stuttered. 

"We left off with you mentioning what happened a few weeks ago and me saying yeah. You...were about to explain something, I think." Chloe repositioned herself to bring her feet under her so that she was sitting on her knees.

Zack turned around to actually face the beautiful girl in front of him. He sat with his legs crossed, Indian-style. Zack didn't notice that he was fidgeting with the blanket on the bed as he spoke. "About all that, Chloe...I--What I said that day," He shook his head, "It's--"

Chloe cut him off, "Zack, it's ok. Life happens that way sometimes. Someone likes someone and the one that the first someone likes doesn't like them back. Really...it's ok."

Zack shook his head, "No...it's not ok. It's not ok because it's not what I meant...It's not what I wanted to say and it's not...It's not what I was supposed to say."

Chloe immediately took offense to this statement "What do you mean, 'supposed' to say? What you were going to say just to make me not feel absolutely horrified?"

"God, no, Chloe. Aren't you hearing any of this?"

"Yeah, I heard you, I'm not deaf, Mooneyham. I just don't want you to go off apologizing if it's all just to make things natural and normal again."

"It's not. Chloe...I mean what I'm saying. What I said that day was not what I was going to say. And all of this isn't about me saying what you want to hear. I'm saying what I need to say, Chloe."

"Well, I'm obviously not hearing you all that well, Zack. Be more specific and direct! Stop confusing me and say what you need to say!"

Zack's left hand braced his eyes and he started talking to himself. Chloe only caught bits of it. "Knew I shouldn't have done this...bad idea...no good...useless and pointless...too serious...soon...maybe...later...not now...bad timing..." Zack sighed and put his face in his hands. This wasn't how he had planned this to go.

"Zack...what's going on?"

Zack's head snapped up and he went off, "I knew I should have done this! I knew it was a bad idea! It's useless and pointless and there's no logical reason that I should be doing this! I don't know why I'm doing this to myself--to you--it's just..." He made a few vague motions with his hands, as if to try and convey what he was saying. He sighed and shook his head, "Nevermind..."

"Zack," Chloe started, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Zack felt his shoulder's tense at her touch but he shrugged her off. "No, you know what...I don't care anymore! You aren't listening to me. You aren't hearing what I'm trying to say. This is obviously futile."

"Zack, please....don't do this. I know that you're frustrated...everything that's been going on lately has been really confusing but--" She stopped, trying to figure out how she was going to word what she said next. "Zack, I'm trying to listen, I'm trying to hear you, but it's not making sense. If you would stop babbling and get straight to the point, this would be so futile! If you would just tell me straight out what you're trying to say, then we might not--"

Zack couldn't stand it any longer. He knew it probably wasn't the smartest thing he'd ever done, but he had to do it. He couldn't wait and she was just droning on and on and he had the feeling that she was never going to shut up. Zack didn't care what Chloe thought about him after it was all done and said, he didn't care what happened between the two of them, he just had to do it. He leaned over and kissed her.

Zack's actions shocked Chloe. She hadn't ever thought of him to be the type to just go for it and do something. She had just come to her sense and was about to start kissing him back when he pulled away. Chloe sat there, dumfounded, with her mouth open slightly. Then a smile replaced the dumbfounded look. She couldn't help it. Zack was just too cute!

Zack could feel the heat coming to his cheeks. That was the second time that day that he had blushed. He had a feeling that right now, he was blushing a deeper shade of red than he ever had in his entire life. He had to be, his cheeks were absolutely burning! Zack swallowed and licked his lips. Stupid nervous habit! He thought before trying to form a coherent sentence. "Chloe, I...uh..I-I, um..." He managed a few other strangled noises, but no coherent sentence. He licked his lips again when he realized that she wasn't saying anything. Oh shit...oh shit...oh SHIT! Was all that was running through his mind at the moment. 

"Well...first things first, I'm taking it that you broke that promise to yourself. Next, the feelings are at least mutual. And finally: Oh. My. GOD!"

Zack frowned. What was wrong with this girl? Was she suddenly turning into a sterotypical Valley-Girl-Cheerleader or something? "What?"

"That...was great. Completely unexpected...the best kind of kiss." She grinned mischieviously.

Zack swallowed. "So, uh..."

"You wanna make it steady?"

"I...um...I don't know, Chloe..."

"It's ok...I understand, Zack." She pet him on the head, "You have issues...just remember this: You're unique...just like everyone else." 

"Right..."

"But I'm still one of a kind." She added.

"If that ain't the truth, there is none in this world."

"So...casual dating, then?"

"I...guess...yeah..."

"Ok. That's settled, on with the snogging!" 

"Snogging?"

"Too much Harry Potter fan fiction."

"I see..." Zack said before she kissed him again. Life...was...paradise as of this moment.

~*~*~*~

Notes - Ok...that's done. Cute little one-shot. *looks up, then back at readers. Ok, so it's not little and it was kind of random, but still! Wasn't it cute? lol. 

Days to write - 3 (The entire freakin' weekend! It took up my WEEKEND! lol) 

Pages - oh, you know, the typical one-shot length of 23 pages! (Holy crap...I didn't think it was that long!)

Other random stuff you don't care about:

Characters: 54117

Words: 12093

Sentences: 1075

Lines: 1210

Paragraphs: 424

Av. Word Length: 4

Av. Words to Sentence: 11

Max Words to Sentence: 51

Ok...I was bored so I did all of that. Didn't take long, of course,

it's just kind of fun to do when your bored. Lol. Anyway, this is my first SoR fic 

so...give me some reviews! Please? *Grin* yay! Also, I want you guys

to be expecting a slash fic (Freddy/Zack) from me here pretty soon. 

(It will be my first one so...don't be too hard on me lol.) It's actually more slashy 

undertones, but still...I think it was good for a first try. *waves*

Later days,

~PFB


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